Spring Festival at Meiji Shrine

Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Shrine (????) is a Shinto Shrine located near Harajuku Station in Tokyo, Japan dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. While Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912, Empress Shoken died two years later in 1914. It was after their demise, that this shrine was constructed in their honor. On November 1, 1920, the souls of the highly revered Emperor and Empress were enshrined on this site amidst an effervescent garden filled with countless trees of hundreds of different varieties. This Shrine has always been an important venue for celebrating many festivals of Tokyo including the famous Spring Festival at Meiji Shrine.
The Meiji Shrine and the Asakusa Temple are two main religious sites in Japan, belonging to Buddhism and Shintoism, both existing side by side, so close that they often seem to be in the same complex. The Meiji Shrine is an oasis of tranquility, its serenity further enhanced by the balmy birdsongs and the soft gurgling sound of bubbly streams.
The thickly forested shrine compound consists of two areas:

  -   Naien or a blooming inner garden, fragrant with the sweet aroma of blushing irises, an enclosed area in the centre of the shrine buildings, which houses a Azekurazukuri style treasure museum where various articles of the Emperor and Empress enshrined are on display.

  -   Gaien, or the outer garden, which houses the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, where connoisseurs can study a priceless collection of 80 large murals illustrating various events in the lives of the Emperor and his consort. The outer complex/ precinct also includes a variety of sports facilities, including the National Stadium, and is seen as the center of Japanese sports. The Meiji Memorial Hall, originally used for governmental meetings is also present in this complex. Today it is used for Shinto weddings.

Annual Spring Festival of Meiji Shrine, Tokyo

Of the many shrine festival, Spring Festival of Meiji Shrine is a special event that is celebrated with a lot of verve and with entertaining performances of traditional music and martial arts. Major events at the festival are:

  -   Bugaku
  -   Japanese classical music and dancing
  -   Satsuma biwa
  -   Japanese-style archery meet
  -   Noh and kyogen

All these events are staged on a makeshift podium in front of the main sanctuary except for the archery meet, which is held at Nishisando in the shrine compound.

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